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    Toward a Culture of Freedom: Reflections on the Ten Commandments Today
    Toward a Culture of Freedom: Reflections on the Ten Commandments Today
    Toward a Culture of Freedom: Reflections on the Ten Commandments Today
    Ebook453 pages5 hours

    Toward a Culture of Freedom: Reflections on the Ten Commandments Today

    By Thorwald Lorenzen

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    About this ebook

    The Ten Commandments belong to the "classics" of Western culture. They are an authoritative part of the Hebrew and the Christian Scriptures. Since they come to us from an ancient past, it is both necessary and worthwhile to inquire what they may mean for us today. Thorwald Lorenzen contends it is important to hear God's invitation to an alternative lifestyle: "you shall not kill," "you shall not commit adultery," "you shall not covet." His thoughtful reflections on the commandments for today's tumultuous world begin with the God who "speaks" ten word to liberate God's people from oppression. Grounded in God's liberating "yes," the "ten words" are neither laws nor rules. They are elements for a culture of freedom in which people are invited to celebrate life.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCascade Books
    Release dateMar 1, 2008
    ISBN9781498270458
    Toward a Culture of Freedom: Reflections on the Ten Commandments Today
    Author

    Thorwald Lorenzen

    Thorwald Lorenzen has taught and preached in Europe, the United States, Asia, and in Australia. For over 20 years he was Professor of Systematic Theology and Ethics at the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Ruschlikon/Zurich, Switzerland. Since 1995 he has been the Senior Minister of the Canberra Baptist Church in Australia's Capital City. He is active in ecumenical, evangelical, and justice concerns. He is a lecturer in Systematic Theology at St. Mark's National Theological Center, School of Theology, Charles Sturt University, Whitley College, The Baptist College of Victoria, and at the University of Melbourne.

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      Book preview

      Toward a Culture of Freedom - Thorwald Lorenzen

      2

      When God Acts, God Liberates

      Continuing the Overture to the Ten Words

      I am the lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

      Exodus

      20

      :

      2

      and Deuteronomy

      5

      :

      6

      
Related biblical texts: Exodus

      6

      :

      2

      –

      9

      ; Matthew

      5

      :

      1

      –

      11

      ; Galatians

      5

      :

      13

      –

      25

      Theological Comments

      We continue our introduction to the ten words. I am the lord your God is found very often in the Hebrew Bible. It describes God as the ground of our freedom, as the foundation on which the history of God’s people is built. At the same time this expression indicates that God takes initiatives to which people can respond, and God presents possibilities from which people can choose.

      God’s initiatives aim at creating space for the experience of freedom. God is the one who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. God’s being must be thought of as a presence for us and with us, resulting not only in words that address the human conscience but also in deeds that liberate from situations of

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